Review of the Nobile NHP SplitBoard

[bounce]

I have now had 4 days on the water with my new Nobile SplitBoard, - and I have to say I am impressed.

The short story: Fantastic for travel, good light-wind board, and absolute capable for freestyle.

Packaging:
It is a bit larger than expected, with each piece at 70x42 cm. It does not fit in a small duffel or suitcase, but in a larger suitcase, and in my XL North Face duffel it fits nicely. I can pack harness, board, 7m2 and 10m2 kites and a pump in tha XL duffel bag, - at about 22kg.

Assembly:
Mounting the board, with pads, fins a two halves of the board takes less than 5 minutes, since everything can be mounted without tools. The pins that lock the two board halves together feels and looks solid enough.

The orange pads, handles and fins may look gary, but I used to have had a black board with grey fins, - so I appreciate a board that is easy to see on the water.

On the water:
The board planes easily, goes great upwind, and is great for light wind. It is wide and flat (134x42), and asymmetric to give a longer heel-side edge, this makes it easy to carve upwind even in marginal conditions. (which is important in a SplitBoard since I will often travel with only one kite.)

Nobile says it is a bit softer than the regular Nobile Freestyle, - but it does not feel soft to me.

As a freestyle board, it is a bit harder to get out of the water than my Trax, - probably because it has a bit less pop, less rocker, heel longer from the edge (wide board), and maybe because I ordered it with 5mm fins, - 3.5mm is also available. In general, the feeling is not as soft as the Trax, but still a smooth ride on flat water. I have not experienced anything wrong in flex or softness in landings, - it feels right and gives the smooth landings you expect. (I have not tried really hard landings on it, - wish to be be a bit careful)

In chop and waves, the board is not as smooth as I am used to, no problem riding, but it gives a bit of spray, and feels a bit like it is crashing through the chop, not running smoothly over.The board is a little heavy, while thin and flat, rides a little bit deep in the water, hence the spray. (This also used to be a problem with my old Nobile boards some years ago). Quick turns in waves does not work that well, - but again, this could be due to the larger fins.

One final gripe is that the pads are a bit hard, my heels hurt after a very long session, - but it is the same as for other Nobile boards.

Conclusion:

I am very happy with my board, - and expect that it will make it possible to carry kite-gear on trips where I would normally not have gear, - but I will still carry my Trax on longer trips (several weeks), and when I am travelling by car.

More pictures and a video at:
http://nobilekiteboarding.com/products/ ... board.html

Frode.

(Riding mostly F-One, but paying for my own gear, no formal association with any brand)

[ToddDouglas]

Hey thanks for the review. . i bought the same board to travel with and it does not fit into the biggest 34 inch suitcase i have. I have been looking for a bag that it does fit, , every normal large bag i tried was either not wide enough or not long enough.

I will try the North Face XL Duffle ... Do you know of any other bags that work ?

Thanks,
Todd

[lbebere]

I have also purchased this board and found out also that it's not easy to find a bag for it...

Finally I tried successfully a diving bag Mares Cruise Backpack Pro which is a travel bag on wheels with a semi hard back, and also can be used as a backpack.

http://www.mares.com/products/accessori ... ?region=eu

Few other diving bags, duffel type can also probably work and are less expensive than Northface

I am still researching for other bags ... please let me know if you are successful

Laurent

[vp]

All Nobile Split boards now come with their own bags. We have Flying Carpets and NHPs in stock now.

[iKite123]

All Nobile Split boards now come with their own bags. We have Flying Carpets and NHPs in stock now.

Nice, but it is still not a solution for flying abroad.

[Okinawa Kiter]

I also have the same board. It came with both sets of fins when I bought it. I also had a hell of a time trying to find a bag as I got the 137cm version. I think the longest half of the board is 78cm. Finally while I was traveling in Australia I came across this bag for $140 Aussie. The brand was Kathmandu. Hard back with rollers so easy to move around and as a one bag setup. Here's the problem though. 1 board 1 14m switchblade kite bar and pump and a pair or shorts harness. Then travelled light with mostly shorts 1 pair of jeans etc and the bag came in at 34kg! So had to pull stuff out and put into another bag.
I much prefer my 134 2hd nobile board and next time will take it and shove my gear into the bag as I'll need to take 2 bags anyways. Even if I have to pay extra. My nuwind board weighs 2.2 kgs at 140cm but not as fun to ride as the nobile. Still it's a bit smaller in size when in two parts. The zig zag shape adds a lot of extra length.

[vp]

All Nobile Split boards now come with their own bags. We have Flying Carpets and NHPs in stock now.

Nice, but it is still not a solution for flying abroad.

I was able to fit the 137 split, 2 kites (in vacuum sealed bags), bar, pump, and harness in the 2014 Best Kite backpack. The whole thing was only about 30lbs and about 60inches (w+d+h).
But this was before Nobile came up with these board bags. Board inside the new Nobile board bag doesn't fit anymore, but you could just wrap it around in a towel instead and put some extra padding on the teeth. I will try to take some pictures soon.

[Sgallian]

Got the Carbon Splitboard 134x42.
Have had a NHP 137x44 before, and on the contrary, I feel that the "normal" NHP cuts through the chop, but with that "air cushion" feeling that makes it so confortable. For me the Slitboard stays higher in the water, and lost a bit of this cushy feeling, but is still very confortable, with the same edge... I reckon that the lack of channels (guess it was not compatible with W system) is responsible, though the different construction can play a part too.
Anyway, it came with its bag, and I got it on a trip where I did not bring any board (and did not think I would come back with one), so it would not fit in any piece of luggage I had... I tested my luck, and tried to keep it with me in the cabin, on a 2 legs journey back, and guess what, there was no problem at all, it went twice through security and all, and fitted easily in the overhead compartments!
Won't risk it again, so I ordered a Manera Traveler 110 before I came across this post, it will be tight, but I hope it will fit in...

[Sgallian]

Somebody asked for pics, so I thought I would post some here...
I got it from someone I met that works at Nobile, he told me it was the newest "prototype", so I cannot garantee that this is the final product...
As you can see, it looks like the NHP Carbon 2014, but with the W split... Anyway, I'm pretty sure you'll have official pics when their new website is up (in a few days, they say on April 1st... hope it's not a joke ).

BTW, the purple/blue NHP 2013 137x44 is for sale (reluctantly, because I love it, but I won't use it now)... I want 400€ for it, because it is almost like new ( used 15 times, only few superficial scratches on the bottom, ask for pics from any angle if interested).

[flipper231]

I will start by saying that the splitboard concept is great and should be pursuided but it is not the answer to everything. If you measure evrything and you want to make sure that you comply with the rules, no suitcase will ever fit those boards. When I travel I am limited to one checked suitecase (20kg) and a boardbag (10kg on charters and 20 on real airlines) and a carry-on (10kg except on shitty Sunwing with their shitty tiny Embraer that carry nothing bigger than a purse, 5kg). They do that so you pay the extra fee 50$-100$, depending on the seat and stuff. I will not pay until they change their disciminatory rules: bikes, scuba, golf, all have better conditions than us.
So here is the trick:
1 double sleve boardbag with a skim and a 136x40 TT. I keep the straps on but not the fins. I can put the impact vest with them and It comes to 9,7kg.
1 28 inch IT Amsterdam suitecase (2.8kg). With the dakine compression bags, i manage to cram a 12m, 10m, 7m, 2 bars, one pump, booties, 1,5mm neo top, bag with fins and screwdriver, 1 waist harness (ion, not the lightest which would be mystic), and I reach 17.5 kg, I can expand 5cm to put 2.5 kg of clothe or just keep it as is to bring rhum and stuff.
1 nobile kitebag which is exactly the size of a carry-on (22x14x9 in) filled with clothes and water wear for a week: shorts, t's, lycra, boardshorts, linen pants, ss shirts, underwear, i wear sanuks on vacation so 2 pairs of those, toiletry for 9,8kg
On the plane I wear my heavy stuff: jeans, sweater, windbreaker, etc.
So f..k them and their crazy fees, canjet used to be great with 20kg boardbag but they changed the rules to match the lowest common denominator. I will pay the extra like I did when I left for 2 weeks because I was treated equally. Next time, the baby will have all his lugguage maxed out too, and a boardbagb with 10kg of plywood just to piss them off.
For me the splitboard is an option to fit a surf like the Infinity or a large board in a regular boardbag. Otherwise I lose the priviledge of bringning a boardbag and lose one checked luggage which can carry stuff for the second week.